LIFESCIENCE: First cloned human embryo revealed

[Eduardo Kac <ekac@artic.edu>]

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LIFESCIENCE
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/low/english/sci/tech/newsid_371000/371378.stm

BBC News Online: Sci/Tech


Thursday, June 17, 1999 Published at 11:45 GMT 12:45 UK

First cloned human embryo revealed


First cloned human embryo revealed
Details of the first human embryo to be cloned have been released.

The watershed achievement in biotechnology actually happened last November,
but more
information was revealed on Thursday. It was achieved using a cell from a
man's leg and a
cow's egg.

The scientists who created the clone see it as a significant step forward
in the search for a
way of producing human stem cells.

These are "master" cells which can develop into any type of cell - skin,
bone, blood etc.
They are believed to have the potential to provide perfect-match tissue for
transplantation
and the treatment of diseases such as Parkinson's and stroke.

Cloning questions

But this development will also see a significant heightening of the debate
over the ethics of
human cloning and, indeed, what it means to be a human.

American Cell Technology (ACT), a leading, private biotechnology company,
cloned the
first human embryo and let it develop for twelve days before destroying it.
In a normal
pregancy, an embryo implants into the womb wall after 14 days.




Dr Robert Lanza, ACT's director of tissue engineering, told the Daily Mail
newspaper that
the embryo cannot be seen as a person before 14 days. The company say they
have released
news of the discovery to try to allay fears over the artificial conception
of life.

It is believed that many more human embryos have been created and destroyed
since
November. Then it was announced that stem cells had been cloned, not that
embryos had
been allowed to develop.

No cloned children

ACT say they have no intention of attempting to use a cloned human embryo
to start a
pregnancy - their aim is "therapeutic cloning" not "reproductive cloning".

Lord Robert Winston, a British fertility expert, said the research was
"totally ethical".

But opponents say that the development of the technology makes the eventual
birth of a
human clone inevitable. This, they say, would have profound implications
for the nature of
family relationships, the law and health.

Tough technology

The technology used to create the clone was very similar to that used to
make Dolly the
Sheep. Over 200 embryos were used before Dolly finally appeared, showing
that cloning is
not a well-understood or easy-to-perform technique.

It is understood that ACT used a cow's egg. This had its DNA removed and
replaced with
human DNA. The new cell was then chemically persuaded to behave like a new
embryo and
start dividing. This is how ACT hope to cultivate stem cells.

But Dr Maisam Mitalipova, a pioneer of this human-cow type of cloning, told
the Daily
Mail: "We didn't get good quality embryos and so they may not get good
quality stem cells."

Cloning competition

Another US company, Geron, are also reported to be attempting to clone
human embryos
for therapeutic purposes.

They recently bought all the shares in Roslin Bio-Med, a company set up to
commercialise
the cloning expertise of the Roslin Institute, Scotland, where Dolly the
sheep was created.

Geron has not publicly stated whether their attempts have been successful
and it may be that
ACT have acheived the feat first.



Relevant Stories

Human cloning experiments underway (18 Jun 99 | Sci/Tech)
Is Dolly old before her time? (27 May 99 | Sci/Tech)
Pig clone for the millennium (13 May 99 | Sci/Tech)
Dolly goes to market (18 Jun 99 | Sci/Tech)
Cloning may damage long-term health (18 Jun 99 | Sci/Tech)
Cell breakthrough offers transplant hope (02 Apr 99 | Sci/Tech)
Company 'cloned human cells' (13 Nov 98 | Sci/Tech)

Internet Links

Advanced Cell Technology
Cloning - New Scientist
Geron Corporation
Roslin Institute

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

In this section

UK keeps human cloning ban
Women's choice of men goes in cycles
The misery of 98
GM plants to produce medicinal honey
Comet's shadow captured on cosmic screen
E-commerce code of practice launched
Time up for silicon chips
Cloning - where will it end?
Video game key to epilepsy (From Health)
Circle of light is Africa's Net gain
Tell-tale signs of climate change
Kasparov's chess pieces disappear
Cyber criminals feel the heat
Salon.com bores Wall Street audience (From Business)
Panda clone could save species
Cloning may lead to 'medical revolution'
Cosmonaut breaks space record
Q&A: What is cloning?


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______________________________________________________________________

Eduardo Kac
Assistant Professor of Art and Technology
Art and Technology Department
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
112 S. Michigan Avenue, Room 414
Chicago IL 60603
Phone: (312) 345-3567
Fax: (312) 345-3565
E-mail: ekac@artic.edu

http://www.ekac.org

______________________________________________________________________

Research Fellow
Centre for Advanced Inquiry in the Interactive Arts,
University of Wales, Newport, UK
______________________________________________________________________


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